STOCKTON - San Joaquin Delta College trustees were successfully defending their seats Tuesday against a trio of union-backed challengers, according to early election returns.

Incumbents Steve Castellanos, Teresa Brown and Jennet Stebbins all led in their respective races, although less than one-third of the vote had been counted.

Retired Delta psychology instructor Elizabeth Blanchard, meanwhile, had a narrow lead over Stockton Unified educator Claudia Moreno in the race to replace Trustee Mary Ann Cox, who decided not to seek re-election.

If the numbers hold, there would appear to be no major change in the balance of power on the board.

"I am so pleased that the people appreciate the work that we have done on the board the past four years," Brown said. "That's what's mattered. People love Delta College, and they see how much better it is now than it was four years ago."

Incumbents had been criticized for their management of the college's $250 million voter-approved bond for refusing to dig deeper into Delta's reserve fund to head off budget cuts and for hiring divisive President Jeff Marsee, who was forced out earlier this year after eight months on the job.

The incumbents had been credited, however, with helping the college salvage its accreditation and with hiring new President Kathy Hart.

Delta's teachers union endorsed three candidates to run against the incumbents and endorsed Moreno to replace Cox.

Union President Elizabeth Maloney blasted Brown on Tuesday for her role in the hiring of Marsee.

"You have a board member who chaired the presidential search committee and is the president of the board and doesn't tell us to look into his past and ultimately costs our college $400,000," Maloney said. "That's not fiscal responsibility."

LeJames Melton, who was challenging Stebbins, said he still felt optimistic, since so many votes had not yet been counted.

Here's exactly how the races were shaping up in the San Joaquin County portion of the college district, by far the largest in terms of the number of voters:

» Area 1 (south Stockton): Stebbins, with 45 percent of the vote, led former Delta student Melton and Pablo Zapata, who each had 27 percent.